Leclerc excells as Red Bull struggle in final practice
The warm-up to a highly-anticipated qualifying session in Monaco revealed a mixed bag of fortunes for the grid, with Red Bull’s frustrations opening the door for their gaining rivals in the upcoming marginal battle for Pole.
It was a very quiet start to the final hour of practice, with Mercedes and a few other brave characters the only cars circulating the Circuit de Monaco.
The session itself was headlined by traffic interferences, with a clear run through the 3.34km track becoming a true rarity for the drivers.
Something that definitely wasn’t rare was lockups and over-ambition on the run into Saint Devote.
Throughout FP3, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri were forced to swing their way out of the run-off area at Turn 1, with Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon and countless others flat-spotting their tyres at the same corner.
As for the timing sheets, Charles Leclerc was the only driver who seemed to have his head around the unforgiving circuit, a shock to no one after having grown up on these very streets.
The home hero found his rhythm early on in the session despite a generally delayed commencement to FP3.
At the halfway mark of the session, Leclerc’s time of 1:12.242s put him in P1, a position and time he maintained and improved on by the chequered flag, finishing with a blistering time of 1:11.369s.
Carlos Sainz ended the final hour of practice over six-tenths back on his teammate in P7, a theme that was present throughout the entire session.
Leclerc’s dominance was just one factor that contributed to the frustration that was vented over Red Bull’s radio-waves.
Max Verstappen driving the RB20 during the final practice in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
Max Verstappen fell victim to the quintessential Monegasque traffic paradise on many occasions, leaving for some colourful words of choice from the Dutchman.
He was also unhappy with his set-up, insisting that he would have been able to find more pace if not for some undisclosed, pre-existing issues with his RB20.
Sergio Perez echoed his championship-leading teammate, ending his session with an unsatisfied message, saying: “We have a lot of work to do. The car is nowhere.”
Despite this, the Red Bull drivers ended their session in P2 and P5.
To start FP3, it was an exploratory outing for George Russel after the Mercedes crew were forced into an overnight shift to completely rebuild the #63’s steering and front suspension following significant vibrations in FP1 and FP2.
The team’s work was immediately applauded as Russell rejoiced in the difference as he began his opening FP3 stint.
It wasn’t an equally positive start for the #44 Mercedes car who was forced to avoid a stricken Valtteri Bottas at La Rascasse and later had to recover from the run-off at Saint Devote.
Hamilton ended FP3 with the third fastest time of the session, sitting over three-tenths back on Leclerc’s time.
To start his session, Piastri flew to the top of the timing sheets, setting a momentarily untouchable time of a 1:12.684s.
The #81’s original time held its own for much of the session, keeping him safely within the top ten before he improved to second fastest in the final five minutes, with Norris always close behind.
Verstappen and Hamilton knocked him out of the top three, leaving Piastri in P4 with qualifying approaching.
As for our other Australian representative, Daniel Ricciardo’s session was one he’ll hope to learn from over the next few hours.
Ricciardo failed to make any gains from the backend of the field, sitting down in P18 for much of the 60-minute practice.
The same couldn’t be said for his teammate, with Yuki Tsunoda stunning as he moved into P3, just five milliseconds behind Leclerc at one point.
The #22 RB driver ended the session with the top ten, places that were previously occupied by rare appearances from Alex Albon, Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly across FP3.
The grid’s focus in now completely locked in on the all-important Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session, dictating much of the outcome of the results that will be achieved on Sunday.
Qualifying kicks off at midnight, AEST.
Image: Andy Hone / LAT Images
2024 Monaco Grand Prix Schedule:
Friday, May 24th:
FP1: 21:30 – 22:30
Saturday, May 25th:
FP2: 01:00 – 02:00
FP3: 20:30 – 21:30
Sunday, May 26th:
Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00
Race: 23:00
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